Pat Connaughton

Wheat Hotchkiss

Six more prospects visited Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Tuesday, as the Pacers hosted their second pre-draft workout open to the media. Indiana owns the 11th and 43rd overall picks in the 2015 NBA Draft, which will take place on June 25 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

The player who drew the most attention from the local media was Notre Dame guard Pat Connaughton, an explosive athlete and two-sport star fighting to make the NBA. While Connaughton's name had the most local interest, Utah point guard Delon Wright and Texas forward Jonathan Holmes were the two players at Tuesday's workout most likely to hear their names called on Draft night. Both players are currently projected as either a late first or early second-round pick by most draft experts.

PHOTO GALLERY: Tuesday's Pre-Draft Workout »

Rounding out the prospects at Tuesday's workout were William & Mary point guard Marcus Thornton, Georgetown guard Jabril Trawick, and former Georgetown forward Greg Whittington.

Once again, Pacers head coach Frank Vogel led the workout, with help from all three of his assistant coaches. A large contingent from the Pacers front office observed the workout, including team president Larry Bird, general manager Kevin Pritchard, and Donnie Walsh.

I had the opportunity to speak with all six prospects during their visit to The Fieldhouse on Tuesday. You can watch those interviews in the video player above and read below for brief notes on each prospect.

As Pacers.com's Mark Montieth covered in greater detail, Connaughton's draft stock appears to be on the rise after an eye-opening performance at the NBA Draft Combine, where his 44-inch vertical leap nearly broke a combine record.

The 6-5 wing opened eyes with how well he tested at the combine and was a very productive player in all four years he spent in South Bend. A four-year starter, Connaughton's field goal and 3-point percentages improved every year, culminating with him shooting 46.6 percent from the field and 42.3 percent from beyond the arc as a senior. He also rebounded very well for his position, averaging 7.4 boards per game.

The Arlington, Mass. native admitted to being a little starstruck being around Larry Bird after "growing up in the Boston area where he is literally 'The Legend.'" But Connaughton isn't one to suffer from stagefright. He carries himself with a definitive swagger and confidence, but also proved during his time with the Irish that he's willing to make personal sacrifices to help the team succeed. But now, Connaughton is eager to prove that he has all the tools to be successful in the NBA.

"I think we were able to find a niche at Notre Dame where we were as efficient as we could be, we had guys doing what they did best and they didn't really have to stray from doing that," Connaughton said. "I think when you come to these workouts you want to show you can do things that translate to the NBA game such as use pick-and-rolls (and other things) I didn't have to do as much in college, such as handle the ball, slash to the rim."

As he prepares for the NBA Draft, Connaughton faces a unique connundrum. A two-sport star at Notre Dame, he's a promising pitching prospect with a fastball that flirts with triple digits and was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the fourth round of last year's draft.

For now, Connaughton has elected to put baseball on hold. He made it clear on Tuesday that his preference would be to play in the NBA and he's pursuing that dream to the fullest. But if it doesn't work out, he's got a pretty good backup plan.

Holmes, a 6-9 forward out of Texas, has the potential to develop into a valuable NBA player.

He is a good athlete who moves very well for a player of his size. He has the ability to rebound and block shots and was even a serviceable 3-point shooter in college, shooting 33 percent from beyond the arc over his last two seasons in Austin.

The biggest question facing Holmes is what position he will play long-term. He spent time at both small and power forward in college and could potentially carve out a niche at either position at the next level. Holmes' athleticism should allow him to defend small forwards, but offensively he may be of more value at power forward with his ability to stretch the floor.

"That'll be up to the coaches and the management to figure that out, what they think I would be good at, but I feel like I can play both (positions)," Holmes said.

Holmes' biggest focus over the next few weeks is to continue fine-tuning his shot. Though he defended well at the combine, Holmes made just 2-of-8 3-point attempts in a pair of five-on-five games.

Pat Connaughton turned plenty of heads with how well he tested at the combine, but Thornton also helped himself tremendously in Chicago. The 6-2 guard's 43-inch vertical was second only to Connaughton. Thornton was also the fastest player at the combine, running the 3/4 court sprint in a blistering 3.02 seconds.

Thornton's strong showing at the combine backed up his extremely productive play on the court at William & Mary. He graduated as the Tribe's all-time leading scorer, having amassed 2,178 points during his four years on campus. He averaged over 18 points per game in each of his final three seasons, including a career-best 20 points per game as a senior, when he was named the CAA Player of the Year.

Still, since he compiled those stats playing for a mid-major program, some scouts may have had questions about how well Thornton's game could translate to the NBA. Any questions about his athleticism were certainly answered at the combine.

"I know a lot of people maybe haven't seen my athleticism show as much in games," Thornton said. "I definitely want to show I'm capable of it, so I was just glad I was able to test well and I had a great time at the combine."

Though he has a bit of an unorthodox jump shot, Thornton scorched the nets during his time in college. He shot just under 44 percent from 3-point range as a sophomore and then topped 40 percent in both his junior and senior years.

The biggest question about Thornton's game is whether he's capable of running the point on a full-time basis. Because he was asked to shoulder such a heavy load offensively, Thornton didn't have a high assist total (he averaged a career-best 2.9 per game as a senior), but did rack up his fair share of turnovers (3.1 per game as a sophomore, though he got that number down to 2.3 as a senior).

Those numbers may be a cause for concern, but Thornton is a proven winner. William & Mary won just six games during his freshman season, but he helped spearhead a monumental turnaround that culminated in the Tribe winning 20 games in both of his final two seasons on campus and capturing a regular season conference title in his senior year.

Trawick didn't stuff the stat sheets during his time at Georgetown, but he was a valuable four-year contributor to the program. Though he was the team's third-leading scorer on last year's team (averaging 9.1 points and 3.6 rebounds per game), Trawick was the emotional leader of a Hoyas team that tied for second in the Big East.

Trawick possesses great size for a guard, measuring out at 6-4 and 218 pounds. In addition to his strong frame, Trawick showed marked improvement as a jump shooter in his final college season, improving his 3-point percentage from .312 as a junior to .407 as a senior.

Perhaps Trawick's best attribute is his toughness, something that was instilled in him at an early age.

"Growing up in Philly is tough," Trawick said. "I always played with the older dudes when I was younger, so you just get a certain grit and a certain toughness to you."

But behind all that toughness is a softer side. Trawick recently graduated from Georgetown with a degree in English and has a particular interest in the works of Shakespeare.

And yes, Pacers fans, he has a good relationship with Roy Hibbert. Trawick wore Hibbert's number 55 during his time in Georgetown and keeps regular contact with the Pacers center. The two even spoke on Labor Day, the day before Trawick worked out at The Fieldhouse.

"He just told me to go hard, be myself, whoever I go against try to outwork them so that's what I tried to do," Trawick said.

Trawick was reunited on Tuesday with Whittington, one of his former teammates at Georgetown. The two players were both part of coach John Thompson III's 2011 recruiting class.

Whittington, a 6-8 forward, played 20 minutes a game as a freshman before appearing ready for a breakout as a sophomore. In 13 games in the fall of 2012, he averaged 12.1 points and 7.0 rebounds per contest.

Unfortunately, that's when things started to unravel for Whittington. He was ruled academically ineligible for the spring semester and then tore his ACL that summer. A few months later, Whittington was dismissed from the program. He mulled transferring to Rutgers, but ultimately decided against it.

So Whittington entered Tuesday's workout as a great unknown, a player who hadn't seen significant game action in over two years. That experience gave him an added appreciation for the opportunity to work out for an NBA team.

"It means a lot," Whittington said. "It means that these two years I've been working hard and now my chance is right here, time to take it."

Of all the prospects at Tuesday's workout, Wright was the only one that Draft Express currently projects to be drafted in the first round. A 6-5 point guard with good size and an NBA pedigree, Wright has all the tools to succeed at the next level.

After two years at community college, Wright spent the last two seasons starring for the University of Utah. He was an All-American as a senior and won the Bob Cousy Award as the best point guard in the country after averaging 14.5 points and 5.1 assists per game while leading the Utes to the Sweet 16.

Wright's best attributes may come on the defensive end. He was an absolute menace from the point guard position, averaging 2.3 steals and 1.1 blocks per game during his two seasons in Utah.

"Just using my length against point guards," Wright said when asked about his defensive prowess. "I'm considered a bigger guard for my position, so I just want to use my length, get deflections, just do all-around defensive things."

The biggest knock on Wright is his jump shot, though he showed considerable improvement in that regard over the past year. He struggled mightily from beyond the 3-point arc as a junior, making just 12-of-54 attempts (22 percent). He bumped that percentage up to .356 as a senior, but there are still questions as to whether he can consistently knock down shots at the next level.

As he prepares for a possible career in the NBA, Wright can lean heavily on his big brother, Dorell, who just finished his 11th NBA season. Dorell, who is six years older than Delon, turned pro out of high school, so Delon has gotten to watch his brother succeed at basketball's highest level from an early age.

"Seeing him since I was in the 7th grade playing in the NBA has been really influential, I just want to follow in his footsteps," Delon Wright said.

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Explosive Athletes Headline Tuesday's Workout

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Suddenly, it's as if the best thing he's ever done was jump 44 inches into the air at the NBA Draft Combine.

Forget about the four seasons at Notre Dame and his prominent role with a nationally-ranked team that nearly knocked Kentucky out of the NCAA tournament this past season. Forget about his impressive rebounding stats, his smooth shooting stroke or his highly-praised attitude. Forget the individual highlights such as his game-saving blocked shot against Butler in the tournament or the dunk over Jabari Parker as a junior. Forget, even, about his budding professional baseball career.

Pat Connaughton, who was one of six players working out for the Pacers at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Tuesday, went semi-viral after he was measured for the second-best vertical jump in the history of the Combine earlier this month. His 44-inch leap was only a half-inch short of the record turned in by Kansas' Kenny Gregory in 2001, and tied that of Shane Larkin in 2013.

His performance, which can be seen here inspired the inevitable #WhiteMenCanJump hashtag on Twitter, and a stream of tweets, videos and stories.

He's not complaining. At this uncertain state of his career, it's good to be noticed for anything.

"The combine people were wondering if they could slide an envelope under my shoe when I jumped and now they're seeing how high of a box they can slide under my feet," Connaughton said.

Connaughton has more to his game than jumping, though. He was the third-leading scorer at Notre Dame while hitting 42 percent of his 3-pointers and 78 percent of his foul shots. He offered further evidence of his shooting touch by shooting well in the Combine, including a scrimmage in which he hit 4-of-5 3-pointers and scored 18 points.

He also led the team in blocked shots (0.9) from his shooting guard position. Butler fans no doubt remember his rejection of Kellen Dunham's 3-point attempt that could have eliminated the Irish from the tournament; they went on to win in overtime.

Purdue fans might remember Connaughton as well. He scored 19 points and grabbed 14 rebounds against the Boilermakers at the Fieldhouse in December, in Notre Dame's 94-63 victory.

Connaughton's senior scoring average of 12.5 points (down from 13.8 as a junior) doesn't normally excite NBA scouts, but they understand he had to share his offense. Point guard Jerian Grant, who worked out for the Pacers last week as a projected first-round pick, led the Irish with a 16.5 average while taking 61 more field goal attempts than Connaughton. Center Zach Auguste, a junior last season, hit 62 percent of his shots and averaged 12.9 points.

"I was just focused on doing whatever I had to do to win," he said. "Maybe I took less shots. I don't know the specifics, I just know we were winning ballgames and I was perfectly fine with that."

Connaughton has been left off some mock drafts and is a second-round pick in others. It seems fair to speculate his stock is rising, though – partly because of that Combine vertical, but also his Combine shooting and his pre-draft workouts. He's already worked out for San Antonio and in a session in Los Angeles for 28 teams that was set up by his agent. He's scheduled to work out for 10 or 12 more teams before the draft.

His stated goal in the workouts is to prove he's more than a jumper and a jump-shooter. It will be of primary importance to show he can operate off a pick-and-roll, a staple in most NBA offenses.

"I'll give it 110 percent, even though that may not be possible because you can only go up to 100 percent," he said.

Oh, yeah. He's plenty smart enough, too. He graduated from Notre Dame earlier this month with a Business degree and a 3.0 grade point average.

A vertical jump alone, of course, won't get him into the NBA. Gregory, the Combine champion leaper, went undrafted and played out his professional career in Europe. Connaughton, though, has a fairly well-rounded game and a viable second option in baseball. He was a fourth-round draft pick of the Baltimore Orioles and given a $400,000 signing bonus. He spent last summer with the Class A Aberdeen IronBirds, pitching 14 2/3 innings and compiling a 2.45 earned run average. His fastball has been timed at 96 miles per hour.

He said he'll pursue an NBA career to its fullest. If that doesn't work out he'll give baseball a shot, rather than play basketball overseas. Regardless of what option presents itself, he'll jump at it.

Have a question for Mark? Want it to be on Pacers.com? Email him at askmontieth@gmail.com and you could be featured in his next mailbag.

Note: The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Indiana Pacers. All opinions expressed by Mark Montieth are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Indiana Pacers, their partners, or sponsors.

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Connaughton's Draft Stock Rising

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Pre-Draft Workouts: May 26, 2015

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Height: 6-5
Weight: 215
Position: SG
College: Notre Dame
Age: 22

PPG: 12.8
RPG: 7.4
APG: 1.5
BLK: 0.9
STL: 0.7

Player BioCourtesy of Notre Dame Athletics

SENIOR SEASON (2014-15): Returns for his final season with the Notre Dame basketball program as one of the top players in the Atlantic Coast Conference ... versatile two-sport standout, he also was a member of the Irish baseball program for three seasons ... drafted in the fourth round (121st pick overall) of the 2014 Major League Draft by the Baltimore Orioles ... spent two months (June and July) during the 2014 summer pitching for the Aberdeen IronBirds ... returned to campus in late July for basketball practices leading up to Notre Dame's tour of Italy ... a fixture in the Notre Dame starting lineup since his freshman season ... heads into the 2014-15 campaign having played in every game during his Irish career (101 contests) ... has made 82 consecutive starts and 85 starts overall since his freshman season in 2011-12 ... tallied 990 points during his career for a 9.8 career scoring average and grabbed 541 rebounds (5.4 rpg.) ... registered career bests of 13.9 ppg. and 7.1 rpg. as a junior ... looks to become the 56th player in Notre Dame basketball history to reach the 1,000-point mark ... leading defensive rebounder in the ACC in 2013-14 (5.9 per game) ... should be among the leading rebounders again for the Irish this season ... emerged as a versatile player at both ends of the floor ... has the ability to score from anywhere on the floor ... uncanny court vision allows him to be a distributor to his teammates ... an unselfish player with a great feel for the game ... ranks ninth all-time in career field goals made (175) and in three-point field goals attempted (475) ... 48 career games in double figures and grabbed 10-plus rebounds on 10 occasions ... has registered seven career double-doubles.

JUNIOR SEASON (2013-14): One of two players who started all 32 games for the Irish ... served as one of four captains on 2013-14 Notre Dame squad ... scored 441 points and grabbed 227 rebounds ... third-leading scorer (13.8 ppg.) and rebounder (7.1), both of which were career bests ... second-leading scorer for the Irish in Atlantic Coast Conference games at 13.9 ppg. ... along with Garrick Sherman, averaged a team-leading 7.1 rebounds per game in conference play, 10th best in the league ... led the Irish in three-point field goals made (76) ... connected on 45.2 percent (155-343) of his shots from the field, 37.8 percent (76-201) from three-point range and 83.3 percent (55-66) from the freethrow line ... connected on 41 three-pointers in ACC play... played second-most minutes on the team (1,190) and averaged 37.2 per game ... averaged 39.0 minutes in ACC play ... scored in double figures in 25 games during the season and netted 20-plus points on four occasions ... led the Irish in scoring eight times and in rebounding on 16 occasions ... pulled down 10 or more rebounds seven times and posted five double-doubles on the season ... never left the court in eight games (six in ACC play) ... scored 11 points on 4-8 shooting, including 3-6 from long range, in the season opener against Miami (Ohio)... finished 4-5 from the field and scored 10 points in win over Stetson... netted 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds in loss to Indiana State .... notched first double-double of the season with a team-high 18 points and 10 rebounds in a 101-67 win over Cornell ... that game began a seven-game double-figure scoring streak ... netted 12 points, dished off four assists, grabbed three rebounds, blocked two shots and made two steals in 98-93 loss to Iowa in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge ... scored a team-high 21 points and grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds in win over Delaware ... collected second consecutive doubledouble with 17 points and 11 rebounds in a victory over Bryant, marking the first time in his career that he had back-to-back games with a double-double ... finished with 21 points versus North Dakota State ... scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds in 79-72 win over Indiana in the Crossroads Classic ... connected on 6-11 shots from the field and scored 13 points in loss to Ohio State ... opened ACC play by scoring in double figures in five consecutive conference games ... scored in double figures in 14 of 18 ACC contests ... scored 16 points on 6-9 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds in 79-77 win over Duke in Notre Dame's ACC opener ... finished with his third double-double of the season as he scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in loss at Georgia Tech, while also dishing off a career-high seven assists ... scored a team-high 19 points on 5-11 shooting from the field that included a 3-7 performance from three-point range in loss to Maryland ... netted 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds in victory over Virginia Tech ... played all 40 minutes and finished with nine points and 10 rebounds in road loss at Florida State ... in overtime win at Purcell Pavilion against Boston College, played all 45 minutes, scoring 17 points on 6-12 shooting from the field ... grabbed 10 rebounds and scored seven points in loss to North Carolina at home ... played 49 of 50 minutes in double-overtime win over Clemson and scored 13 points, grabbed seven rebounds and matched a personal best with seven assists ... in a homecoming win on the road at Boston College, netted 17 points and dished off four assists in 73-69 victory over the Eagles ... deposited a season-high 22 points (his fourth 20-plus point outing of the season) at Miami, connecting on 8-12 shots from the field, including a 6-7 performance from three-point range ... scored nine points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished off six assists in win over Georgia Tech ... was 7-10 from the field and 4-6 from beyond the perimeter in scoring 19 points in overtime loss to Pittsburgh ... suffered a sprained ankle against the Panthers, but still managed to play 41 of 45 minutes ... despite the ankle sprain, recorded his fifth double-double of the season in 63-61 loss at North Carolina in regular-season finale as he scored 17 points and grabbed 13 rebounds ... ended the season by scoring 19 points and grabbing five rebounds in ACC Tournament first-round loss to Wake Forest ... an honorable mention all-ACC selection by the league's 15 coaches.

SOPHOMORE SEASON (2012-13): A starter in every game ... notched 310 points (8.9 ppg.), 164 rebounds (4.7 rpg.) and 75 assists (2.1 apg.) ... also had 16 steals and 12 blocked shots ... made a team-high 58 three-pointers ... shot 44.5 percent from the field, including 37.7 percent from long range ... was 34-48 (.708) from the free-throw line ... played the third-most minutes on the team (1,123/32.1 mpg.) ... led the Irish in scoring three times ... was named to the BIG EAST Championship All-Tournament Team ... earned the Notre Dame Defensive Player of the Year Award ... averaged 7.9 points and 4.8 rebounds in BIG EAST play ... scored in double figures 14 times during the season ... his first double-digit effort came in the second game of the campaign when he poured in 13 points in an 84-57 win over Monmouth ... scored 11 points in 41 minutes of play in a 79-70 overtime setback to Saint Joseph's during the semifinals of the CVC Classic ... went for 10 points in a 92-64 victory over Chicago State ... tallied 16 points, four rebounds and three assists in an 81-68 besting of Purdue at the Crossroads Classic ... in the following game, he was 7-9 from the floor en route to 18 points in addition to notching six rebounds and five assists in a 74-62 win over IPFW ... reached double figures for a third straight game with 12 points on 5-7 shooting in an 85-57 victory over Kennesaw State ... hauled in nine boards versus Niagara, an 89-67 win ... recorded 10 points and six rebounds in a 66-60 triumph at Cincinnati ... was 6-8 from the floor, including 4-6 from three-point range, and finished with 17 points and five boards in a 69-66 besting of Rutgers ... scored 12 points in the 63-47 loss to Georgetown ... also had 12 points in the following contest, a 73-65 win at USF ... played a career-high 56 minutes and tallied 16 points and a career-high 14 rebounds in the epic 104-101 five-overtime victory over eventual national champion Louisville ... also had a career-best seven assists against the Cardinals ... had 13 points and seven rebounds in a 73-57 loss at Louisville ... deposited a season-high 21 points in a 69-61 win over Rutgers in the second round of the BIG EAST Championship ... was 7-10 from the field, including 6-8 from beyond the arc, against the Scarlet Knights ... the six treys were a season-best total that he also achieved the following night in an 18-point performance in a 73-65 triumph over Marquette in the league quarterfinals ... was 6-10 from three-point range versus the Golden Eagles ... totaled nine points and eight rebounds in the 69-57 setback to Louisville in the BIG EAST semifinals.

FRESHMAN SEASON (2011-12): One of three Fighting Irish players to appear in all 34 games ... started 18 contests ... posted averages of 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game ... notched 30 assists, 17 steals and five blocked shots ... averaged 24.1 minutes per game ... shot 41-120 (.342) from three-point range ... scored in double figures nine times, including three 20-plus point efforts ... registered one double-double ... led the Fighting Irish in scoring four times and three times apiece in rebounds and blocked shots ... averaged 6.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in BIG EAST play ... started 12 of the team's 18 BIG EAST regular-season contests ... tallied 10 points and nine rebounds in just his second career game, a 59-53 win over Detroit ... netted a season-high 24 points against Sam Houston State in the third game of the season ... went 6-for-10 from beyond the three-point arc in the 74-41 win over Sam Houston State ... the 24 points were the most for an Irish freshman since Torin Francis had 25 during the 2002-03 season ... earned his first career start in the following game, a 93-69 win over Delaware State ... scored 11 points against Georgia in the Progressive CBE Classic ... had 11 points at Gonzaga ... his first BIG EAST start came in the 67-58 upset of No. 1 Syracuse ... registered a doubledouble with 23 points and 11 boards in a 76-59 triumph versus Marquette ... was named the BIG EAST Co-Rookie of the Week for his performance against the Golden Eagles ... posted 10 points and five rebounds in a 71-53 win over Rutgers ... scored a team-high 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a 74-70 comeback overtime victory at Villanova ... was 7-for-12 from three-point range against Villanova ... had 12 points and six rebounds in a 57-53 besting of USF ... tallied 10 points versus Xavier in the second round of the NCAA Championship.

BASEBALL: Drafted in the 2014 Major League Baseball Draft in the fourth round (121st pick overall ) by the Baltimore Orioles ... signed a two-month contract with the ballclub and spent the months of June and July with the Aberdeen Iron Birds ... started four games in six appearances ... finished with a 2.45 ERA, giving up 13 hits, nine runs and striking out 10 batters ... played three seasons with Notre Dame baseball program ... made 32 appearances and earned 30 starts ... finished career with an 11-11 record and 3.03 ERA ... pitched 154.2 innings ... had two complete games ... gave up 149 hits, 61 runs and 52 earned runs ... struck out 105 batters ... as a sophomore in 2013, finished with a 4-2 record and 1.71 ERA ... pitched first complete game of his career against Boston College in 4-2 win over the Eagles on April 12, 2014 ... allowed six hits and struck out six batters (35 batters faced) ... as a senior in high school, selected in the 2011 MLB Draft by the San Diego Padres (50th round)

AWARDS AND HONORS: Honorable Mention All-ACC (2014) ... ACC Academic Honor Roll (2014) ... Notre Dame Defensive Player of the Year (2014) ... BIG EAST Championship All-Tournament Team (2013) ... Notre Dame Defensive Player of the Year (2013) ... BIG EAST Rookie of the Week (Feb. 6, 2012) ... BIG EAST All-Academic Team (2011-12).

HIGH SCHOOL: A four-year letterwinner at St. John's Prep in Danvers, Massachusetts ... where he is the all-time leading scorer (1,713 points) ... played under the guidance of head coach Sean Connolly ... averaged 23 points, 17 rebounds and eight assists during his high school career ... team captured the state title during his senior season ... 2011 Gatorade Player of the Year for the state of Massachusetts ... 2011 ESPN Mr. Basketball for Massachusetts ... ranked 73rd nationally by Scout.com and 100th by ESPNU ... twotime all-state selection and three-time all-conference pick, including being named the conference's MVP as a junior and senior ... three-time team captain ... copped team MVP honors during his final three seasons ... two-time conference champion ... squad posted a 46-4 record during his junior and senior seasons ... helped lead his team to a 3-0 record at the 2010 AAU National Showcase in Orlando, Florida ... averaged 30 points and 20 rebounds per game at the 2010 AAU Nationals ... consistently hit 90-plus mph on the radar gun ... earned all-state honors in baseball during his senior season in addition to being a three-time all-conference performer ... MVP of the 2010 Massachusetts state baseball tournament (North Division) ... as a senior, posted an 11-2 record with a 1.75 earned-run average and 160 strikeouts in 90 innings pitched ... also played third base ... batted .400 with a .750 slugging percentage as a senior ... lettered in football as a quarterback during his freshman and sophomore seasons.

PERSONAL: Full name is Patrick Bergin Connaughton ... born in Arlington, Massachusetts ... son of Leonard and Susan Connaughton ... father played football at Framingham State College ... uncle, Richard, played baseball at Springfield College ... member of the National Honor Society in high school ... participated in Notre Dame's Rosenthal Leadership Academy ... graduated from same high school as Notre Dame football coach Brian Kelly ... enrolled in the Mendoza College of Business as management consulting major.

Pat Connaughton

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